1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable hand guard for a table mounted cutting tool for movement with work to be advanced past the cutting tool.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An operator of a table mounted cutting tool such as a table saw must be able to hand feed work past the saw blade without danger of injuring himself through contact with the blade.
Present cutting tool guards are frequently of complex construction, are relatively expensive, and interfere unduly with normal use of the power tool. For example, many guards for table saws are fixed to the table in a position in which they extend out over the blade. These move away from the saw blade as the work is advanced, but they also have to be lifted out of the way in order to view the work area, or to adjust the saw, or to perform any of various other operations. Consequently, operators often regard such guards as a nuisance, remove them and thereby expose themselves to serious injury.
It is also common practice in the prior art to dispense with use of any guard, simply utilizing a length of scrap wood to push the work past the saw blade. This usually results in unwanted vibration or chattering of the loosely held work, and also makes it difficult to hold small workpieces, such as in sawing relatively narrow strips from a workpiece.